Cleaning method and cleaning apparatus for porous member

ABSTRACT

A porous member cleaning method enables effective cleaning of the interior of a porous member even when it has a small pore size, a high density and a large volume. The porous member cleaning method includes: disposing a porous member in a hermetic space, and cleaning the interior of the porous member with a pressurized cleaning liquid passing through the interior of the porous member; and then disposing the porous member in said hermetic space or in a different hermetic space, and supplying pressurized pure water to the interior of the porous member so that the pure water passes through the interior of the porous member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a cleaning method and a cleaning apparatus for porous members, and more particularly to a cleaning method and a cleaning apparatus which are useful for cleaning a porous member provided in an electroplating apparatus for forming interconnects by filling an interconnect material, such as copper, into fine interconnect patterns (recesses) formed in a surface of a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, or a porous member for use in a CMP apparatus or a cleaning apparatus, and to a plating apparatus provided with the cleaning apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

The applicant has proposed a plating apparatus (electrolytic processing apparatus) in which a porous member (high-resistance structure) is disposed between a substrate and an anode, and the porous member is impregnated with a plating solution so as to make the electrical resistivity of the porous member impregnated with the plating solution higher than the electrical resistivity of the plating solution, thereby making the influence of the surface sheet resistance of the substrate as small as negligible and making it possible to form a plated film having a more uniform thickness over an entire surface of the substrate (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-235192).

Cutting debris, an organic material, etc., produced by processing, adhere to a surface and the interior (interior surfaces of pores) of such a porous member. It is therefore necessary to pre-clean the porous member before incorporating and using it in a plating apparatus. Further, there are cases where pores of a porous member are clogged, e.g., with a black film which was formed on a soluble anode and fell from the anode into the pores of the porous member in a non-plating time, or with a secondary product with an additive contained in a plating solution. The porous member therefore needs to be cleaned periodically or according to necessity.

Cleaning of such a porous member has conventionally been carried out by ultrasonic cleaning in substantially the same manner as cleaning for a common substrate, in particular, by a method which, as illustrated in FIG. 15, comprises disposing a porous member 302 in a cleaning vessel 300 and immersing the porous member 302 in a cleaning liquid 302, which is introduced into the cleaning vessel 300 from its bottom and is allowed to overflow into an overflow tank 306, while applying ultrasonic waves from an ultrasonic oscillator 308 to the cleaning liquid 304 in the cleaning vessel 300, thereby cleaning the porous member 302, and then introducing pure water as a rinsing liquid into the cleaning vessel 300 to rinse the cleaned porous member 302 with pure water.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has generally been difficult with ultrasonic cleaning of a porous member to fully clean the interior of the porous member. Thus, it takes a long time to fully clean the interior of a porous member especially when the porous member has a large volume and small-sized pores. There is recently a demand for the formation of a plated film having a more uniform thickness over an entire surface of a substrate. In order to meet the demand, it is necessary to supply a plating solution through a porous member more uniformly to a substrate. This requires stricter specifications for the porosity and the pore size of the porous member, making it more difficult to uniformly clean the interior of the porous member.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situations. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning method and a cleaning apparatus for porous members, which enable effective cleaning of the interior of a porous member even when it has a small pore size, a high density and a large volume, and a plating apparatus provided with the cleaning apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a porous member cleaning method comprising: disposing a porous member in a hermetic space, and cleaning the interior of the porous member with a pressurized cleaning liquid passing through the interior of the porous member; and then disposing the porous member in said hermetic space or in a different hermetic space, and supplying pressurized pure water to the interior of the porous member so that the pure water passes through the interior of the porous member.

The interior of a porous member can be cleaned more effectively by thus directly cleaning the interior (interior surfaces of pores) of the porous member with a cleaning liquid passing through the interior, without using an external force as in ultrasonic cleaning. Further, by replacing the cleaning liquid, remaining in the interior of the porous member, with pure water, adverse effects of the cleaning liquid on processing, such as plating, can be prevented.

Preferably, the cleaning liquid and/or pure water in the hermetic space is bubbled with a gas.

By thus allowing a cleaning liquid and/or pure water, bubbled with a gas, to pass through the interior of a porous member, particles, etc. adhering to the interior of the porous member, i.e., the interior surfaces of pores, can be securely peeled off and removed from the interior pore surfaces. An inert gas, such as N₂, may be used for the bubbling.

The cleaning liquid is, for example, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, a hydrogen peroxide solution, pure water, or a mixed solution thereof, an alkaline cleaning liquid or a neutral detergent, or a combination thereof.

The porous member is composed of, for example, a porous ceramic comprising silicon carbide, alumina, aluminum nitride, zirconia or vanadium oxide, or a porous resin.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the porous member has a porosity of not more than 40% and a pore size of not more than 100 μm.

The temperature of the cleaning liquid and the temperature of the pure water are preferably each 20 to 120° C.

The present invention provides a porous member cleaning apparatus comprising: a hermetic vessel for mounting a porous member and forming a hermetic space in the vessel; a pressurized fluid injection section, connected to the hermetic vessel, for selectively injecting one of a pressurized cleaning liquid and pressurized pure water into the hermetic vessel so that the cleaning liquid or pure water passes through the interior of the porous member; and a fluid discharge section for discharging the cleaning liquid or pure water which has passed through the interior of the porous member.

The porous member cleaning apparatus preferably further comprises a gas supply section for supplying a gas for bubbling to the cleaning liquid and/or pure water which has been injected into the hermetic vessel.

The present invention provides a plating apparatus comprising: a substrate holder for holding a substrate; a cathode section including a sealing member for contact with a peripheral portion of a surface of the substrate held by the substrate holder to water-tightly seal the peripheral portion, and a cathode contact for contact with the substrate to feed electricity to the substrate; and an anode section movable between a processing position above the substrate holder and a porous member cleaning position lateral to the processing position, including an anode which, when the anode section is located in the processing position, is disposed opposite the substrate held by the substrate holder, and a porous member disposed between the anode and the substrate, wherein a porous member cleaning section for sequentially introducing a cleaning liquid and pure water into the interior of the porous member of the anode section to clean the interior of the porous member with the cleaning liquid and to replace the cleaning liquid in the interior of the porous member with pure water, is provided in the porous member cleaning position.

By thus incorporating the porous member cleaning section for cleaning a porous member integrally into the plating apparatus having the porous member, the porous member can be cleaned periodically or according to necessity without each taking the porous member out of the plating apparatus.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the porous member cleaning section is provided in association with a plating solution tray, disposed lateral to the substrate holder, for storing a plating solution for use in idling.

By thus providing the porous member cleaning section in association with the plating solution tray for storing a plating solution for use in idling, a significant increase in the size of the plating apparatus can be avoided.

The present invention provides a method for cleaning a porous member in a plating apparatus, comprising: moving an anode section to a porous member cleaning position lateral to a substrate holder, said anode section including an anode which, when the anode section is located in a processing position, is disposed opposite a substrate held by the substrate holder, and a porous member disposed between the anode and the substrate; and then introducing a cleaning liquid and pure water into the interior of the porous member of the anode section, located in the porous member cleaning position, to clean the interior of the porous member with the cleaning liquid and to replace the cleaning liquid in the interior of the porous member with pure water.

According to the present invention, the interior of a porous member can be cleaned more effectively by directly cleaning the interior (interior surfaces of pores) of the porous member with a cleaning liquid passing through the interior. The present invention thus enables effective cleaning of the interior of a porous member even when it has a high density and a large volume.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overall plan view of a substrate processing apparatus provided with a plating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the plating apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a substrate holder and a cathode section of the plating apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a pre-coating/recovery arm of the plating apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the substrate holder of the plating apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the cathode section of the plating apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of an electrode arm section of the plating apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram showing the main portion of the plating apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when plating is performed;

FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram showing the main portion of the plating apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when a porous member is cleaned;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a porous member cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a porous member cleaning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional porous member cleaning apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall plan view showing a substrate processing apparatus provided with a plating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this substrate processing apparatus is provided with a rectangular facility which houses therein two loading/unloading units 10 for housing a plurality of substrates W therein, two plating apparatuses 12 for performing plating process, a transfer robot 14 for transferring substrates W between the loading/unloading units 10 and the plating apparatuses 12, and plating solution supply equipment 18 having a plating solution tank 16.

The plating apparatus 12, as shown in FIG. 2, is provided with a substrate processing section 20 for performing plating process and processing incidental thereto, and a plating solution tray 22 for storing a plating solution for use in idling is disposed adjacent to the substrate processing section 20. There is also provided an electrode arm section 30 having an anode section 28 which is held at the front end of an arm 26 swingable about a rotating shaft 24 and which moves between the substrate processing section 20 and the plating solution tray 22. Furthermore, a pre-coating/recovering arm 32, and fixed nozzles 34 for ejecting pure water or a chemical liquid such as ion water, and further a gas or the like toward a substrate are disposed laterally of the substrate processing section 20. In this embodiment, three of the fixed nozzles 34 are disposed, and one of them is used for supplying pure water.

The substrate processing section 20, as shown in FIG. 3, has a substrate holder 36 for holding a substrate W with its surface (surface to be plated) facing upwardly, and a cathode section 38 located above the substrate holder 36 so as to surround a peripheral portion of the substrate holder 36. Further, a substantially cylindrical bottomed cup 40 surrounding the periphery of the substrate holder 36 for preventing scatter of various chemical liquids used during processing is provided so as to be vertically movable by an air cylinder (not shown).

The substrate holder 36 is adapted to be raised and lowered by the air cylinder 44 between a lower substrate transfer position A, an upper plating position B, and a pretreatment/cleaning position C intermediate between these positions. The substrate holder 36 is also adapted to rotate at an arbitrary acceleration and an arbitrary velocity integrally with the cathode section 38 by a rotating motor and a belt (not shown). Substrate carry-in and carry-out openings (not shown) are provided in confrontation with the substrate transfer position A in a side panel of the plating apparatus 12 facing the transfer robot 14. When the substrate holder 36 is raised to the plating position B, a sealing member 90 and cathode contacts 88 (to be described below) of the cathode section 38 are brought into contact with the peripheral portion of the substrate W held by the substrate holder 36. On the other hand, the cup 40 has an upper end located below the substrate carry-in and carry-out openings, and when the cup 40 ascends, the upper end of the cup 40 reaches a position above the cathode section 38 closing the substrate carry-in and carry-out openings, as shown by imaginary lines in FIG. 3.

The plating solution tray 22 serves to store a plating solution for performing idling (replacement of plating solution and deforming) while wetting a porous member 110 and an anode 98 (to be described later on) of the electrode arm section 30 with the plating solution, when plating has not been performed. The plating solution tray 22 is set at a size in which the porous member 110 can be accommodated, and the plating solution tray 22 has a plating solution supply port and a plating solution drainage port (not shown). A photo-sensor is attached to the plating solution tray 22, and can detect brimming with the plating solution in the plating solution tray 22, i.e., overflow, and drainage.

The electrode arm section 30 is vertically movable by a vertical movement motor, which is a servomotor, and a ball screw, and swingable between an idling position above the plating solution tray 22 and a processing position above the substrate processing section 20 by a swing motor, as described bellow. A compressed actuator may be used.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pre-coating/recovering arm 32 is coupled to an upper end of a vertical support shaft 58. The pre-coating/recovering arm 32 is swingable by a rotary actuator 60 and is also vertically moveable by an air cylinder (not shown). The pre-coating/recovering arm 32 supports a pre-coating nozzle 64 for discharging a pre-coating liquid, on its free end side, and a plating solution recovering nozzle 66 for recovering the plating solution, on a portion closer to its proximal end. The pre-coating nozzle 64 is connected to a syringe that is actuatable by an air cylinder, for example, for intermittently discharging a pre-coating liquid from the pre-coating nozzle 64. The plating solution recovering nozzle 66 is connected to a cylinder pump or an aspirator, for example, to draw the plating solution on the substrate from the plating solution recovering nozzle 66.

As shown in FIGS. 5 through 7, the substrate holder 36 has a disk-shaped substrate stage 68 and six vertical support arms 70 disposed at spaced intervals on the circumferential edge of the substrate stage 68 for holding a substrate W in a horizontal plane on respective upper surfaces of the support arms 70. A positioning plate 72 is mounted on an upper end of one of the support arms 70 for positioning the substrate by contacting the end face of the substrate. A pressing finger 74 is rotatably mounted on an upper end of the support arm 70, which is positioned opposite to the support arm 70 having the positioning plate 72, for abutting against an end face of the substrate W and pressing the substrate W to the positioning plate 72 when rotated. Chucking fingers 76 are rotatably mounted on upper ends of the remaining four support arms 70 for pressing the substrate W downwardly and gripping the circumferential edge of the substrate W.

The pressing finger 74 and the chucking fingers 76 have respective lower ends coupled to upper ends of pressing pins 80 that are normally urged to move downwardly by coil springs 78. When the pressing pins 80 are moved downwardly, the pressing finger 74 and the chucking fingers 76 are rotated radially inwardly into a closed position. A support plate 82 is disposed below the substrate stage 68 for engaging lower ends of the opening pins 80 and pushing them upwardly.

When the substrate holder 36 is located in the substrate transfer position A shown in FIG. 3, the pressing pins 80 are engaged and pushed upwardly by the support plate 82, so that the pressing finger 74 and the chucking fingers 76 rotate outwardly and open. When the substrate stage 68 is elevated, the opening pins 80 are lowered under the resiliency of the coil springs 78, so that the pressing finger 74 and the chucking fingers 76 rotate inwardly and close.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the cathode section 38 comprises an annular frame 86 fixed to upper ends of vertical support columns 84 mounted on the peripheral portion of the support plate 82 (see FIG. 7), a plurality of, six in this embodiment, cathode contacts 88 attached to a lower surface of the annular frame 86 and projecting inwardly, and an annular sealing member 90 mounted on an upper surface of the annular frame 86 in covering relation to upper surfaces of the cathode contacts 88. The sealing member 90 is adapted to have an inner peripheral edge portion inclined inwardly downwardly and progressively thin-walled, and to have an inner peripheral end suspending downwardly.

When the substrate holder 36 has ascended to the plating position B, as shown FIG. 3, the cathode contacts 88 are pressed against the peripheral portion of the substrate W held by the substrate holder 36 for thereby allowing electric current to pass through the substrate W. At the same time, an inner peripheral end portion of the sealing member 90 is brought into contact with an upper surface of the periphery of the substrate W under pressure to seal its contact portion in a watertight manner. As a result, the plating solution supplied onto the upper surface (surface to be plated) of the substrate W is prevented from seeping from the end portion of the substrate W, and the plating solution is prevented from contaminating the cathode contacts 88.

In this embodiment, the cathode section 38 is vertically immovable, but rotatable in a body with the substrate holder 36. However, the cathode section 38 may be arranged such that it is vertically movable and the sealing member 90 is pressed against the surface, to be plated, of the substrate W when the cathode section 38 is lowered.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the anode section 28 of the electrode arm section 30 includes a housing 94 which is coupled via a ball bearing to the free end of the pivot arm 26, and a porous member 110 which is disposed such that it closes the bottom opening of the housing 94. The housing 94 has at its lower end an inwardly-projecting portion 94 a, while the porous member 110 has at its top a flange portion 110 a. The porous member 110 is secured to the housing 94 in such a state that a seal ring (not shown) is interposed between the inwardly-projecting portion 94 a and the flange portion 110 a. Thus, a hollow plating solution chamber 100 is defined between the porous member 110 sealed its periphery with the seal ring and the inner surface of the housing 94.

The porous member 110 is composed of porous ceramics such as silicon carbide, alumina, SiC, mullite, zirconia, titania, cordierite, aluminum nitride or vanadium oxide or a porous resin such as a sintered compact of polypropylene or polyethylene, or a sponge. A porosity of the porous member 110 is preferably not more than 40%, and an average pore diameter is preferably not more than 100 μm. A thickness of the porous member 110 is generally 1 to 20 mm, preferably 5 to 20 mm, more preferably 8 to 15 mm. The porous member 110, in this embodiment, is constituted of porous ceramics of alumina having a porosity of not more than 30%, and an average pore diameter of not more than 100 μm. The porous ceramic plate per se is an insulator, but the porous member 110 is constituted so as to have a smaller conductivity than the plating solution by causing the plating solution to enter its interior complicatedly and follow a considerably long path in the thickness direction.

The porous member 110 is disposed in the plating solution chamber 100 such that the porous member 110 has a high resistance. Hence, the influence of the surface sheet resistance of the substrate becomes a negligible degree. Consequently, the difference in current density over the surface of the substrate due to electrical resistance on the surface of the substrate W becomes small, and the uniformity of the plated film over the surface of the substrate improves.

In the plating solution chamber 100, an anode 98 is disposed above the porous member 110, and a plating solution introduction pipe 104 is disposed above the anode 98. The plating solution introduction pipe 104 has a plating solution introduction port 104 a connected to a plating solution supply pipe 102 which extends from the plating solution supply unit 18 (see FIG. 1). A plating solution discharge port 94 b provided in an upper plate of the housing 94 is connected to a plating solution discharge pipe 106.

A manifold structure is employed for the plating solution introduction pipe 104 so that the plating solution can be supplied uniformly onto the surface to be plated of the substrate. In particular, a large number of narrow tubes 112, communicating with the plating solution introduction pipe 104, are connected to the pipe 104 at predetermined positions along the long direction of the pipe 104. Further, small holes are provided in the anode 98 and the porous member 110 at positions corresponding to the narrow tubes 112. The narrow tubes 112 extend downwardly in the small holes and reach the lower surface or its vicinity of the porous member 110.

Thus, the plating solution, introduced from the plating solution supply pipe 102 into the plating solution introduction pipe 104, passes through the narrow tubes 112 and reaches the bottom of the porous member 110, and pass through the porous member 110 and fills the plating solution chamber 100, whereby the anode 98 is immersed in the plating solution. The plating solution is discharged from the plating solution discharge pipe 106 by application of suction to the plating solution discharge pipe 106.

In order to suppress slime formation, the anode 98 is made of copper (phosphorus-containing copper) containing 0.03 to 0.05% of phosphorus. It is also possible to use an insoluble material for the anode 98.

The cathode contacts 88 are electrically connected to the negative pole of a plating power source, and the anode 98 is electrically connected to the positive pole of the plating power source.

When carrying out electroplating, the substrate holder 36 is positioned at the plating position B (see FIG. 3). The anode section 28 is lowered until the processing position where the distance between the substrate W held by the substrate holder 36 and the porous member 110 becomes, e.g., about 0.1 to 3 mm. A plating solution is supplied from the plating solution supply pipe 102 to the upper surface (surface to be plated) of the substrate W while impregnating the porous member 110 with the plating solution and filling the plating solution chamber 100 with the plating solution. Then, the cathode contacts 88 are electrically connected to the negative pole of a plating power source and the anode 98 is electrically connected to the positive pole of the plating power source so as to carry out plating of the surface to be plated of the substrate W.

As shown in FIG. 12, a porous member cleaning section 120 for cleaning the porous member 110 of the anode section 28 is provided in association with the plating solution tray 22. In this embodiment, a hermetic space is formed in the plating solution tray 22 by covering the opening of the plating solution tray 22 with the anode section 28, and the porous member 110, defining the hermetic space, is cleaned with a cleaning liquid supplied from the porous member cleaning section 120 into the plating solution tray 22 and, in addition, the cleaning liquid remaining in the porous member 110 is replaced with pure water (rinsing liquid) supplied from the porous member cleaning section 120 into the plating solution tray 22.

In particular, a flange portion 94 c is provided at the top of the housing 94 of the anode section 28, while a seal ring 122 is provided in the upper surface of the plating solution tray 22 at a position to be in contact with the flange portion 94 c. When the anode section 28 is lowered, the flange portion 94 c comes into pressure contact with the seal ring 122 in the upper surface of the plating solution tray 22, whereby the plating solution tray 22 is sealed by the seal ring 122, forming a hermetic space.

The porous member cleaning section 120 includes a cleaning liquid tank 126 for storing a cleaning liquid 124 which is, for example, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, a hydrogen peroxide solution, pure water, or a mixed solution thereof, an alkaline cleaning liquid or a neutral detergent, or a combination thereof, a cleaning liquid supply pipe 128 for supplying the cleaning liquid 124 in the cleaning liquid tank 126 to the plating liquid tray 22, and a cleaning liquid discharge pipe 130, which is to be connected selectively to the plating solution introduction inlet 104 a or to the plating solution discharge outlet 94 b, for discharging the cleaning liquid or the like in the housing 94. The cleaning liquid supply pipe 128 is provided with a squeeze pump 132 and a filter 134, and the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 130 is provided with a liquid feeding pump 136.

An overflow tank 22 b, defined by an overflow weir 22 a, is provided in the plating solution tray 22. The cleaning liquid, which has flowed into the overflow tank 22 b, is either returned, via a three-way valve 138 a and a return pipe 140, to the cleaning liquid tank 126 or discharged out via the three-way valve 138 a and a waste liquid pipe 142. Similarly, the cleaning liquid flowing in the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 130 is either returned, via a three-way valve 138 b and a return pipe 144, to the cleaning liquid tank 126 or discharged out via the three-way valve 138 b and a waste liquid pipe 146. The cleaning liquid supply pipe 128 is selectively connected, via a three-way valve 138 c upstream of the squeeze pump 132, to a pure water pipe 148 for supplying pure water as a rinsing liquid, and is selectively connected, via a three-way valve 138 d downstream of the filter 134, to a waste liquid pipe 150. When pure water is used as a cleaning liquid for the porous member, the cleaning operation can be carried out solely with the pure water pipe 148 without the above switching of pipes.

The operation of the porous member cleaning section 120 upon cleaning of the porous member 110 of the anode section 28 will now be described.

First, the anode section 28 is positioned at the idling position above the plating solution tray 22. The anode section 28 is then lowered to bring the flange portion 94 c of the anode section 28 into pressure contact with the seal ring 122 in the upper surface of the plating solution tray 22, thereby sealing the peripheral portion of the plating solution tray 22 with the seal ring 122. The plating solution tray 22 has previously been emptied of the plating solution, and the plating solution introduction inlet 104 a and the plating solution discharge outlet 94 b have been connected to the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 130.

Next, the squeeze pump 132 is driven to pressurize the cleaning liquid 124 and supply the cleaning liquid 124 from the cleaning liquid tank 126 to the plating solution tray 22, and the liquid feeding pump 136 is driven, for example, at a time point when the plating solution tray 22 has become filled with the cleaning liquid, to discharge the cleaning liquid, initially containing a plating solution, from the housing 94. Thus, the pressurized cleaning liquid 124, which has flowed into the plating solution tray 22, is allowed to pass through the interior of the porous member 110 and flow into the housing 94, thereby cleaning the interior (interior surfaces of pores) of the porous member 110 with the cleaning liquid 124. By thus directly cleaning the interior (interior surfaces of pores) of the porous member 110 with the cleaning liquid 124 passing through the interior, the interior of the porous member 110 can be cleaned with good efficiency even when the porous member 110 has a high density and a large volume. According to the present invention, it is also possible to apply ultrasonic waves to at least one of the porous member 110, the cleaning liquid 124 and the porous member cleaning section 120, during cleaning of the porous member 110 with the pressurized cleaning liquid 124, so as to increase the cleaning efficiency.

When the cleaning liquid, discharged through the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 130, contains a plating solution, the cleaning liquid is discharged out via the three-way valve 138 b and the waste liquid pipe 146 and, when the cleaning liquid has come to contain no plating solution, the cleaning liquid is returned, via the three-way valve 138 b and the return pipe 144, to the cleaning liquid tank 126 and is allowed to circulate. The flow rate of the cleaning liquid during the cleaning is, for example, 10 to 20 L/min.

After cleaning the porous member 110 with the cleaning liquid 124 for a predetermined time, the supply of the cleaning liquid 124 to the plating solution tray 22 is stopped. The cleaning time is, for example, about 3 hours when sulfuric acid is used as the cleaning liquid. Thereafter, the cleaning liquid remaining in the plating solution tray 22 is withdrawn from the tray 22 through the cleaning liquid supply pipe 128 and the waste liquid pipe 150, while the cleaning liquid in the overflow tank 22 b is returned through the return pipe 140 to the cleaning tank 126.

Next, the pure water pipe 148 is connected via the three-way valve 138 c to the cleaning liquid supply pipe 128. The squeeze pump 132 is driven to supply pressurized pure water as a rinsing liquid into the plating solution tray 22, and the liquid feeding pump 136 is driven, for example, at a time point when the plating solution tray 22 has become filled with pure water, to discharge pure water, initially containing the cleaning liquid, from the housing 94. At the same time, pure water, which has been supplied into the plating solution tray 22 and passed through the interior of the porous member 110, and pure water, which has flowed into the overflow tank 22 b, are discharged as waste through the waste liquid pipes 142, 146.

Thus, the pressurized pure water, which has flowed into the plating solution tray 22, is allowed to pass through the interior of the porous member 110 and flow into the housing 94, thereby replacing the cleaning liquid, remaining in the interior of the porous member 110, with pure water. By thus replacing the cleaning liquid, remaining in the interior of the porous member 110, with pure water, adverse effects of the cleaning liquid on plating can be prevented.

During the pure water rinsing (pure water replacement), the electric conductivity of pure water that has passed through the interior of the porous member 110 is monitored and, when the electric conductivity has reached a predetermined value, the supply of pure water to the plating solution tray is stopped, thereby terminating the replacement operation. Thereafter, pure water, remaining in the plating solution tray 22, is withdrawn from the tray 22 through the cleaning liquid supply pipe 128 and the waste liquid pipe 150. It is also possible to terminate the replacement operation after elapse of a predetermined time period determined, e.g., by experiment.

Next, ordinary idling is carried out. In particular, while introducing a plating solution into the plating solution tray 22 and keeping the porous member 110 immersed in the plating solution in the plating solution tray 22, the plating solution in the housing 94 is withdrawn and circulated, thereby carrying out replacement of the plating solution in the housing 94 and defoaming of the plating solution.

By incorporating the porous member cleaning section 120 for cleaning the porous member 110 integrally into the plating apparatus 12 having the porous member 110, according to this embodiment, the porous member 110 can be cleaned periodically or according to necessity without taking the porous member 110 out of the plating apparatus 12. Further, by carrying out cleaning of the porous member 110 at the idling position with the cleaning liquid supplied to the plating solution tray 22 for storing a plating solution for use in idling, a significant increase in the size of the plating apparatus can be avoided.

It is also possible to separately provide a cleaning liquid tray, e.g., beside the plating solution tray, to move the anode section to above the cleaning liquid tray and then lower the anode section so as to cover the opening of the cleaning liquid tray with the anode section, thereby forming a hermetic space in the cleaning liquid tray, and to carry out cleaning of the porous member of the anode section, in substantially the same manner as described above, by sequentially supplying a pressurized cleaning liquid and pressurized pure water (rinsing liquid) to the cleaning liquid tray. A pure water rinsing tray may also be provided separately from the cleaning liquid tray for cleaning in order to save time taken for replacing a chemical solution with pure water in the cleaning liquid tray and save the amount of liquid supplied, or to facilitate reuse of the cleaning liquid.

The operation of the above-described substrate processing apparatus will now be described.

First, a substrate W to be plated is taken out from one of the loading/unloading units 10 by the transfer robot 14, and transferred, with a surface to be plated facing upwardly, through the substrate carry-in and carry-out opening defined in the side panel, into one of the plating apparatuses 12. At this time, the substrate holder 36 is in the lower substrate transfer position A. After the hand of the transfer robot 14 has reached a position directly above the substrate stage 68, the hand of the transfer robot 14 is lowered to place the substrate W on the support arms 70. The hand of the transfer robot 14 is then retracted through the substrate carry-in and carry-out opening.

After the hand of the transfer robot 14 is retracted, the cup 40 is elevated. Then, the substrate holder 36 is lifted from the substrate transfer position A to the pretreatment/cleaning position C. As the substrate holder 36 ascends, the substrate W placed on the support arms 70 is positioned by the positioning plate 72 and the pressing finger 74, and then reliably gripped by the chucking fingers 76.

On the other hand, the anode section 28 of the electrode arm section 30 is in the idling position over the plating solution tray 22 now, and the porous member 110 and the anode 98 is positioned in the plating solution tray 22. At the same time that the cup 40 ascends, the plating solution starts being supplied to the plating solution tray 22 and the anode section 28. Until the step of plating the substrate W is initiated, the new plating solution is supplied, and the plating solution discharge pipe 106 is evacuated to replace the plating solution in the porous member 110 and remove air bubbles (idling) from the plating solution in the porous member 110. When the ascending movement of the cup 40 is completed, the substrate carry-in and carry-out openings in the side panel are closed by the cup 40, isolating the atmosphere in the side panel and the atmosphere outside of the side panel from each other.

When the cup 40 is elevated, the pre-coating step is initiated. Specifically, the substrate holder 36 that has received the substrate W is rotated, and the pre-coating/recovering arm 32 is moved from the retracted position to a position confronting the substrate W. When the rotational speed of the substrate holder 36 reaches a preset value, the pre-coating nozzle 64, mounted on the tip end of the pre-coating/recovering arm 32, intermittently discharges a pre-coating liquid which comprises a surface active agent, for example, toward the surface to be plated of the substrate W. At this time, since the substrate holder 36 is rotating, the pre-coating liquid spreads all over the surface to be plated of the substrate W. Then, the pre-coating/recovering arm 32 is returned to the retracted position, and the rotational speed of the substrate holder 36 is increased to spin the pre-coating liquid off and dry the surface to be plated of the substrate W.

After the completion of the pre-coating step, the plating step is initiated. First, the substrate holder 36 is stopped against rotation, or the rotational speed thereof is reduced to a preset rotational speed for plating. In this state, the substrate holder 36 is lifted to the plating position B. When the peripheral portion of the substrate W is brought into contact with the cathode contacts 88, it is possible to pass an electric current, and at the same time, the sealing member 90 is pressed against the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the substrate W, thus sealing the peripheral portion of the substrate W in a watertight manner.

Based on a signal indicating that the pre-coating step for the loaded substrate W is completed, the electrode arm section 30 is swung in a horizontal direction to displace the anode section 28 from a position over the plating solution tray 22 to a position over the plating processing position. After the anode section 28 reaches this position, the anode section 28 is lowered toward the cathode section 38. At this time, the porous member 110 does not contact with the surface to be plated of the substrate W, but is held closely to the surface to be plated of the substrate W at a distance ranging from 0.1 mm to 3 mm. When the descent of the anode section 28 is completed, the cathode contacts 88 are connected to the negative pole of the plating power source and the anode 98 is connected to the positive pole of the plating power source so as to initiate the plating process. The substrate holder 36 may be rotated at low speed during plating, if necessary.

When the plating process is completed, the electrode arm section 30 is raised and then swung to return the anode section 28 to the position above the plating solution tray 22 and to lower to the idling position. Then, the pre-coating/recovering arm 32 is moved from the retreat position to the position confronting to the substrate W, and lowered to recover the remainder of the plating solution on the substrate W by a plating solution recovering nozzle 66. After recovering of the remainder of the plating solution is completed, the pre-coating/recovering arm 32 is returned to the retreat position, and pure water is supplied from the fixed nozzle 34 for supplying pure water toward the central portion of the substrate W for rinsing the plated surface of the substrate. At the same time, the substrate holder 36 is rotated at an increased speed to replace the plating solution on the surface of the substrate W with pure water. Rinsing the substrate W in this manner prevents the splashing plating solution from contaminating the cathode contacts 88 of the cathode section 38 during descent of the substrate holder 36 from the plating position B.

After completion of the rinsing, the washing with water step is initiated. That is, the substrate holder 36 is lowered from the plating position B to the pretreatment/cleaning position C. Then, while pure water is supplied from the fixed nozzle 34 for supplying pure water, the substrate holder 36 and the cathode section 38 are rotated to perform washing with water. At this time, the sealing member 90 and the cathode contacts 88 can also be cleaned, simultaneously with the substrate W, by pure water directly supplied to the cathode section 38, or pure water scattered from the surface of the substrate W.

After washing with water is completed, the drying step is initiated. That is, supply of pure water from the fixed nozzle 34 is stopped, and the rotational speed of the substrate holder 36 and the cathode section 38 is further increased to remove pure water on the surface of the substrate W by centrifugal force and to dry the surface of the substrate W. The sealing member 90 and the cathode contacts 88 are also dried at the same time. Upon completion of the drying, the rotation of the substrate holder 36 and the cathode section 38 is stopped, and the substrate holder 36 is lowered to the substrate transfer position A. Thus, the gripping of the substrate W by the chucking fingers 76 is released, and the substrate W is just placed on the upper surfaces of the support arms 70. At the same time, the cup 40 is also lowered.

All the steps including the plating step, the pretreatment step accompanying to the plating step, the cleaning step, and the drying step are now finished. The transfer robot 14 inserts its hand through the substrate carry-in and carry-out opening into the position beneath the substrate W, and raises the hand to receive the plated substrate W from the substrate holder 36. Then, the transfer robot 14 returns the plated substrate W received from the substrate holder 36 to one of the loading/unloading units 10.

The porous member 110 of the anode section 28 is cleaned by using the porous member cleaning section 120 either periodically or after processing a predetermined number of substrates, for example. In particular, after the completion of the plating process, the electrode arm section 30 is raised and pivoted to return the anode section 28 to above the plating solution tray 22. The anode section 28 is then lowered to below the idling position so as to seal the peripheral portion of the anode section 28 with the seal ring 122. The plating solution has previously been withdrawn from the plating solution tray 22. A high-pressure cleaning liquid and high-pressure pure water are sequentially introduced into the plating solution tray 22 form the porous member cleaning section 120 in the above-described manner, thereby cleaning the interior of the porous member 110 of the anode section 28 and replacing the cleaning liquid remaining in the interior of the porous member 110 with pure water (rinsing liquid). After completion of the cleaning of the porous member 110, the next plating processing will be started.

FIG. 13 schematically shows a porous member cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which can be used to clean, e.g., the porous member 110 provided in the plating apparatus 12 after taking the porous member 110 out of the plating apparatus 12. The porous member cleaning apparatus includes an upwardly-open hermetically-sealable hermetic vessel 200, a ring-shaped holder member 202 attached to an upper portion of the hermetic vessel 200, and a lid 204 which is detachable or openable/closable and water-tightly covers the top of the hermetic vessel 200.

The holder member 202 is to hold the porous member 110 by dropping it into the opening of the holder member 202 and to close an opening of the hermetic vessel 200 with the porous member 110. A seal ring 206 is mounted to the upper surface of the holder member 202 at a position where the seal ring 206 surrounds the porous member 110. The cleaning apparatus also includes a ring-shaped retainer plate 208 having such a width as to cover the seal ring 206 and a peripheral region of the porous member 110 held by the holder member 202. After dropping the porous member 110 into the opening of the holder member 202, the retainer plate 208 is brought into pressure contact with the peripheral region of the upper surface of the porous member 110 while squashing the seal ring 206 by the retainer plate 208, and the retainer plate 208 is fixed to the holder member 202 by a fixture 210, such as a bolt. A hermetic space peripherally sealed with the seal ring 206, with the opening closed with the porous member 110, is thus formed in the hermetic vessel 200.

To the bottom of the hermetic vessel 200 is connected a cleaning liquid supply pipe 216 as a pressurized fluid injection section, extending from a cleaning liquid tank 214 for storing therein a cleaning liquid 212. The cleaning liquid supply pipe (pressurized fluid injection section) 216 is provided with a squeeze pump 218 and a filter 220. The cleaning liquid supply pipe 216 is capable of being selectively connected to a pure water pipe 224 via a three-way valve 222 a upstream of the squeeze pump 218. To the bottom of the hermetic vessel 200 is also connected a gas supply pipe 226 for supplying an inert gas, such as N₂, to a liquid (cleaning liquid and/or pure water) in the hermetic vessel 200 for bubbling of the liquid.

A cleaning liquid discharge pipe 228 as a fluid discharge section is connected to the lid 204. The cleaning liquid discharge pipe (fluid discharge section) 228 is to be selectively connected via a three-way valve 222 b to one of a waste liquid pipe 232 and a return pipe 230 connected to the cleaning liquid tank 214.

The operation of the porous member cleaning apparatus upon cleaning of the porous member 110 will now be described.

First, with the lid 204 detached or open, the porous member 110 is dropped into the opening of the holder member 202 and the retainer plate 208 is fixed to the holder member 202 by the fixture 210, thereby forming a hermetic space peripherally sealed with the seal ring 206, with the opening closed with the porous member 110, in the hermetic vessel 200. The lid 204 is then attached or closed.

Thereafter, the squeeze pump 218 is driven to pressurize the cleaning liquid 212 and feed the liquid sequentially from the cleaning liquid tank 214 into the hermetic vessel 200. As with the above-described embodiment, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid is, for example, 10 to 20 L/min. At the same time, an inert gas, such as N₂, is supplied from the gas supply pipe 226 into the cleaning liquid, which has been fed into the hermetic vessel 200, to bubble the liquid. The pressurized cleaning liquid is thus allowed to pass through the interior of the porous member 110 and reach to above the porous member 110, thereby cleaning the interior of the porous member 110 with the cleaning liquid. Specially, by allowing the cleaning liquid, which is bubbled with the gas, to pass through the interior of the porous member 110, according to this embodiment, particles, etc. adhering to the interior of the porous member 110, i.e., the interior surfaces of pores, can be securely peeled off and removed from the interior pore surfaces.

During the cleaning, the cleaning liquid, which has reached to above the porous member 110 and has accumulated inside the lid 204, is discharged through the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 228. When the cleaning liquid, discharged through the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 228, contains a plating solution, the cleaning liquid is discharged out via the three-way valve 222 b and the waste liquid pipe 232 and, when the cleaning liquid has come to contain no plating solution, the cleaning liquid is returned, via the three-way valve 222 b and the return pipe 230, to the cleaning liquid tank 214 and is allowed to circulate. After cleaning the porous member 110 with the cleaning liquid 212 for a predetermined time, the supply of the cleaning liquid 212 to the hermetic vessel 200 is stopped.

Next, the pure water pipe 224 is connected via the three-way valve 222 a to the cleaning liquid supply pipe 216, and pressurized pure water as a rinsing liquid is supplied into the hermetic vessel 200 at a flow rate of 10 to 20 L/min, so that the pressurized pure water is allowed to pass through the interior of the porous member 110 and reach to above the porous member 110, thereby replacing the cleaning liquid remaining in the interior of the porous member 110 with pure water. As with the cleaning liquid, the pure water, which has been supplied into the hermetic vessel 200, may be bubbled with an inert gas, such as N₂, supplied from the gas supply pipe 226. The liquid discharged out of the lid 204 during the pure water replacement is discharged to the outside from the waste liquid pipe 146.

After completion of the pure water replacement operation, the driving of the squeeze pump 218 is stopped, and the liquid remaining inside the lid 204 is removed. The lid 204 is then either detached or opened. Thereafter, the retainer plate 208 is detached, and the porous member 110 after cleaning is taken out of the holder member 202 to reuse the porous member 110 in, e.g., a plating apparatus.

FIG. 14 shows a porous member cleaning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 13 in that the cleaning liquid supply pipe (pressurized fluid supply section) 216 is connected to the lid 204 and the cleaning liquid discharge pipe (fluid discharge section) 228 is connected to the hermetic vessel 200, so that a pressurized cleaning liquid and pressurized pure water are sequentially supplied into the region (hermetic space) surrounded by the porous member 110, the holder member 202 and the lid 204 and are passed through the interior of the porous member 110, and the cleaning liquid or pure water, which has passed through the interior of the porous member 110 and accumulated inside the lid 200, is either discharged as waste or reused. The other construction of this embodiment is substantially the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, hence a description thereof is omitted.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is understood that the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiments, but various modifications may be made therein within the technical concept of the invention. 

1. A porous member cleaning method comprising: disposing a porous member in a hermetic space, and cleaning the interior of the porous member with a pressurized cleaning liquid passing through the interior of the porous member; and then disposing the porous member in said hermetic space or in a different hermetic space, and supplying pressurized pure water to the interior of the porous member so that the pure water passes through the interior of the porous member.
 2. The porous member cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid and/or pure water in the hermetic space is bubbled with a gas.
 3. The porous member cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid is sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, a hydrogen peroxide solution, pure water, or a mixed solution thereof, an alkaline cleaning liquid or a neutral detergent, or a combination thereof.
 4. The porous member cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the porous member is composed of a porous ceramic comprising silicon carbide, alumina, aluminum nitride, zirconia or vanadium oxide, or a porous resin.
 5. The porous member cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the porous member has a porosity of not more than 40% and a pore size of not more than 100 μm.
 6. The porous member cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature of the cleaning liquid and the temperature of the pure water are each 20 to 120° C.
 7. A porous member cleaning apparatus comprising: a hermetic vessel for mounting a porous member and forming a hermetic space in the vessel; a pressurized fluid injection section, connected to the hermetic vessel, for selectively injecting one of a pressurized cleaning liquid and pressurized pure water into the hermetic vessel so that the cleaning liquid or pure water passes through the interior of the porous member; and a fluid discharge section for discharging the cleaning liquid or pure water which has passed through the interior of the porous member.
 8. The porous member cleaning apparatus according to claim 7 further comprising a gas supply section for supplying a gas for bubbling to the cleaning liquid and/or pure water which has been injected into the hermetic vessel.
 9. A plating apparatus comprising: a substrate holder for holding a substrate; a cathode section including a sealing member for contact with a peripheral portion of a surface of the substrate held by the substrate holder to water-tightly seal the peripheral portion, and a cathode contact for contact with the substrate to feed electricity to the substrate; and an anode section movable between a processing position above the substrate holder and a porous member cleaning position lateral to the processing position, including an anode which, when the anode section is located in the processing position, is disposed opposite the substrate held by the substrate holder, and a porous member disposed between the anode and the substrate, wherein a porous member cleaning section for sequentially introducing a cleaning liquid and pure water into the interior of the porous member of the anode section to clean the interior of the porous member with the cleaning liquid and to replace the cleaning liquid in the interior of the porous member with pure water, is provided in the porous member cleaning position.
 10. The plating apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the porous member cleaning section is provided in association with a plating solution tray, disposed lateral to the substrate holder, for storing a plating solution for use in idling.
 11. A method for cleaning a porous member in a plating apparatus, comprising: moving an anode section to a porous member cleaning position lateral to a substrate holder, said anode section including an anode which, when the anode section is located in a processing position, is disposed opposite a substrate held by the substrate holder, and a porous member disposed between the anode and the substrate; and then introducing a cleaning liquid and pure water into the interior of the porous member of the anode section, located in the porous member cleaning position, to clean the interior of the porous member with the cleaning liquid and to replace the cleaning liquid in the interior of the porous member with pure water. 